100th Su-30MKI ROH handed over to IAF
The Defence Secretary, Mr. Giridhar Aramane inaugurated the
third LCA production line and also handed over 100th Sukhoi-30 MKI ROH aircraft
to Air Vice Marshal Sarin, VSM, Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Eng A), Indian
Air Force in a programme at HAL's Nashik Division on 7 April 2023. The Signal
Out Certificate (SOC) of the 100th ROH aircraft was handed over by Mr Saket
Chaturvedi, CEO (MiG Complex) to Air Vice Marshal Sarin, VSM in the presence of
HAL CMD, Mr. C.B.Ananthakrishnan and other senior officials.
The Defence Secretary lauded HAL's efforts in taking up the
challenge of setting up an ROH facility for Su-30MKI and also establishing a
new production line for LCA manufacturing. He remarked that HAL had been
fulfilling the needs of the country's security. He stated, "The Government
has come out with several 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' policies, and that puts HAL in
a very important position. HAL will be producing more in the coming years.
Build more systems, come out with new concepts, new platforms for future
growth," he added. He also urged HAL to take up new initiatives to
aggressively compete in the defence market and look into new areas like
unmanned vehicles as the country is in need of these advanced systems. He
emphasised on Initiatives, Innovation and Excellence and focus on performance.
He visited the LCA Assembly Complex, Su-30 ROH Flight Hangar and Final Assembly
Hangar.
Mr. C.B.Ananthakrishnan, CMD, HAL satted, "The new
production line will enable the Company to enhance LCA MK1A production capacity
from 16 to 24 aircraft per year. HAL's Nashik Division has achieved peak
overhaul capacity of 20 Su-30 aircraft per year despite having supply chain
issues in current geopolitical situations." HAL has already set up two LCA
manufacturing facilities in Bengaluru.
HAL's Nashik Division set up Su-30MKI Repair and Overhaul
(ROH) facility in 2014, the first of its kind anywhere in the world to meet the
operational requirements of the IAF. Having gained experience from
manufacturing MiG-series and Su-30MKI aircraft and subsequent overhaul of
MiG-series aircraft, HAL successfully mastered the technology with valuable
support from the IAF, regulatory bodies and private industries. Several HAL
sister Divisions are involved in the ROH activities. HAL plans to reduce the
dependency on OEM by indigenising majority of components required for ROH
within the next 3-5 years.
